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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24947938">Discarded</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Toad/pseuds/Captain_Toad'>Captain_Toad</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Deltarune (Video Game), Undertale (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Character Death, Minor Character Death, there's a bit of happiness but mostly angst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 08:35:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,922</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24947938</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Toad/pseuds/Captain_Toad</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The life of Your Vessel after being discarded.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Discarded</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>YOUR ANSWERS</strong>
</p><p>The Vessel accepted its name and form, ready to succumb to its Creator’s will.</p><p>
  <strong>YOUR WONDERFUL CREATION</strong>
</p><p>It was ready. It was prepared to do whatever its Creator wanted. This was what it was made for. It would welcome the Creator’s will with open arms. And the Creator would accept, for the Creator was kind and merciful, and loved the Vessel.</p><p>
  <em>Will now be discarded.</em>
</p><p>… What? Its stomach dropped as they were thrown into oblivion. But whether it was from the fall or from the despair, it could not tell.</p><p>
  <em>No one can choose who they are in this world. </em>
</p><p>It fell impossibly far. Was that tears gathering in its eyes? It did not know. All it knew is that it had been abandoned, thrown away like a filthy toy. What it did not know was why. And that was its first word. Moments before it hit the ground, the singular question slipped out of its mouth.</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>And then everything went black.</p><p>------------------</p><p>“...never seen a child with such grey skin. The poor thing must be so hungry…”</p><p>The Vessel awoke to whispers circling around them. Blinking awake, they noticed that their head was in the lap of a woman looking down at it with concern.</p><p>“Oh, they’re awake!” She smiled warmly at The Vessel. Why? What did she want? “Hello dear, how are you feeling?”</p><p>Now how was it supposed to answer that? It had never felt before. Well it had certainly felt despair, but other than that it did not know how to feel. Seeing its silence and struggle to answer, the woman dropped the subject.</p><p>“How about your name, sweetie?” Name…? Now this question it could answer. It had a name. Its Creator had given it a name. It was… was… Had it really forgotten? This was important. It was part of their being, how could they be such a bad Vessel?</p><p>“Don’t got one, huh? That’s alright,” She ran her fingers through its hair with a kind smile. “I’m going to be taking care of you for now. Your name is Akuji now, how do you like that?” The Vessel nodded numbly. They held no opinions on the name. These people could call them whatever they liked, but it would never be their name. “There we are. My little Aku.”</p><p>-------------------------</p><p>“Draw from your SOUL the will to live, and use it to defend yourself!” Their teacher called out. “Three… two… one… Summon!”</p><p>Around the room, various children summoned round shields of varying colours. Except for The Vessel. They tried, they really did. But nothing ever came. This did not escape the teacher’s notice.</p><p>“Very good everyone. Akuji, I need to talk with you and your mother after class.” The teacher noted. The Vessel bowed their head. They felt very small in that moment. “Class dismissed!”</p><p>As kids trickled off the field, The Vessel’s mother came to fetch them. The teacher waved her over.</p><p>“Miss, if I may speak to you for a moment?” He asked. “I am growing worried about your child. Every other student at least shows some semblance of being able to do magic. But with Akuji, nothing ever comes. I’ve never had a student struggle this much with magic.”</p><p>“My little Aku is just a late bloomer, that’s all,” Their mother answered, smiling down at The Vessel.</p><p>“I don’t think you quite understand,” The teacher frowned. “At this point, I’m not sure if Akuji can do magic at all.” This did not come as a surprise at all to The Vessel.</p><p>“One needs a SOUL to do magic,” They informed softly. “I do not have one.”</p><p>“Don’t be silly Aku, everyone has a SOUL,” Their mother scolded, then looked back at the teacher. “Even if what you’re saying is true, my Aku doesn’t need magic to live. They can function perfectly without it. They are perfect the way they are.”</p><p>“If you’re sure,” The teacher said hesitantly. “I just worry they may grow estranged from their peers.”</p><p>“Don’t be ridiculous, I’m sure everything will turn out fine.”</p><p>-----------------------</p><p>“Monsters are simply too dangerous to let them live among us!” The Vessel’s brother announced ruthlessly. “Just one monster with a human SOUL would be unstoppable! Their magic is already far greater than ours! They must be purged for the sake of humanity’s survival! And I, Ikar, will lead the charge!”</p><p>The crowd roared in agreement as Ikar thrust his sword into the air. He soon stepped down from the podium and went to ruffle The Vessel’s hair.</p><p>“Look at that, they love me,” He said with a grin. “And my little sibling seems to too, hey buddy, what are you doing here?”</p><p>“I think this may be getting to your head,” The Vessel commented, fixing their hair. “And I am not sure all this anti-monster sentiment is a good idea.”</p><p>“What are you, jealous?” Ikar punched The Vessel’s shoulder teasingly. “Besides, I’m right. One monster gets ahold of a human SOUL, and we’re done for. It’s us or them, I’m just campaigning for the us.”</p><p>“Well what are you going to do, kill all monsters because you believe they are all out to get you?” The Vessel’s shadowed eyes watched judgmentally. “Innocent people are going to die. There is no good war, whatever you may think.”</p><p>“Don’t go and paint me like I’m paranoid, this is the right thing to do,” Ikar narrowed his eyes. “Besides, what are you going to do to stop me? Not like you have any magic, idiot.” He walked away, an irritated weight in his steps. That was Ikar, stubborn enough to leave on an insult. Why couldn’t he see that a war was a bad idea? It didn’t matter anyways. Whatever happened was already predetermined. The Creator, The Angel, The Player, would make sure of it. This world was shaped for them to play with.</p><p>And The Vessel welcomed this fate as a piece in the machine that shaped the world. At least they could be of some use to their Creator.</p><p>That was all they wanted.</p><p>---------------------</p><p>After months of illness, Mother passed in her sleep. The doctors say she lasted longer than they thought she would. She was always perseverant like that. The Vessel did not cry. They did not sob and grieve like their siblings did. They felt nothing. If anything they felt emptier than before.</p><p>“Why aren’t you upset?” Ikar approached one day, a bitter tone to his voice.</p><p>“I see no point in wallowing. She would not have wanted that,” This was only partially the truth. But how do you tell someone you cannot feel grief? That your emotions are so faint you can hardly tell they’re there?</p><p>“You can’t logic your way out of this. How can you not care at all?” Ikar seethed. “She loved you most out of us, and you weren’t even her real child!” The Vessel shifted uncomfortably, at a loss for words.</p><p>“I just…”</p><p>“No! I don’t get why she loved you more than me! But she did, and now you aren’t even a little upset she’s gone! Bullshit! You don’t get to not care about this!”</p><p>“Ikar…”</p><p>“I didn’t believe you all those times you said you didn’t have a SOUL, but you know what? This is proof you were right!” At those words, Ikar stormed away, leaving The Vessel alone.</p><p>And in that moment, as The Vessel felt a faint glimmer of guilt, they had never wished for a SOUL more.</p><p>--------------------------</p><p>Tensions were high between humans and monsters, and Ikar certainly wasn’t helping with this. The air buzzed with morbid anticipation, like a thread about to snap. Patrols had since tripled in the past years. War was coming. And on the rocky edge of humanity’s border is where it would start.</p><p>The Vessel and Ikar had walked ahead of the patrol group to scout. A tense silence had stretched between them.</p><p>“War is coming soon,” The Vessel commented idly.</p><p>“Really?” Ikar responded drily. “Hadn’t noticed.”</p><p>“People are going to die. And for what?”</p><p>“For the good of humanity.”</p><p>“Human lives will be lost as well.”</p><p>“It’s for the greater good.”</p><p>“Is the greater good really worth it?”</p><p>“It always is.”</p><p>“Would mother approve of this?”</p><p>“You don’t get to talk about her.” And that was that.</p><p>Silence lapsed between them again. And The Vessel wearily realized there was no point in arguing further. The rift between them would never be fixed.</p><p>So why did they try again? They knew that whatever happened was meant to be. Why did they try to sway their brother’s views? Why did they try to change the course of fate?</p><p>Why, why, why. Their first word. They had used it again and again after that. And they never got their answers. They could not deny their Creator’s world. The Creator would return one day, and there they would have a world shaped for them. Anything that happened was for them. If a war had to break out for the Creator’s world to be shaped, then that was just how it is.</p><p>But were the deaths of countless innocents worth it? They did not know anymore.</p><p>“Whatever happens next,” The Vessel began, breaking the silence. “Is your fault. Everything from now on is your doing. Be prepared to accept that.” Ikar huffed and did not respond.</p><p>Something in The Vessel snapped.</p><p>Without even thinking first, they shoved Ikar to the ground with all their might. A crack sounded as his head hit one of the sharp rocks that littered the area. The Vessel froze. Why had they done that?</p><p>Something akin to horror squirmed in their stomach, but they only watched as blood pooled around their brother’s head. Oh right, blood was red. The Vessel recalled numbly that the Creator had chosen red as their favourite colour.</p><p>Ikar’s body twitched a few more times before falling still. A glowing read heart hovered above his chest.</p><p>
  <strong> [* Your LOVE increased.]</strong>
</p><p>The Vessel reached forward and held the SOUL gently in their hands. It buzzed the panic of a dying man. Pushing the SOUL into their chest, the Empty Vessel became whole.</p><p>“Human, are you alright?” A patrol of monsters rushed across the barrier to the scene. The leader crouched down and their hands buzzed with a green light as they attempted to heal Ikar. “His SOUL has not been released, he may be able to make it.” Oh, the poor monsters. They did not know. And a few moments after, the rest of the human patrol arrived.</p><p>“Step away from the human, monster scum!” One of the soldiers ordered furiously.</p><p>“We were just trying to-”</p><p>“Back off!” The soldier crouched down and felt for a pulse. “He’s… dead. General Ikar is dead.” The monster frowned in confusion.</p><p>“But there’s no-”</p><p>“SOUL? No, there isn’t,” The soldier looked up in suspicion.</p><p>“You can’t possibly think-”</p><p>“I bet the monsters killed him and took his SOUL!” Another soldier accused from the back.</p><p>“We were trying to heal him!”</p><p>“Bullshit!”</p><p>“You are grasping at straw, human, we just got here, how could we have-”</p><p>“-and on human territory of all places-”</p><p>“-the NERVE of you humans-”</p><p>“Silence!” The first soldier snapped. “Akuji, you were there, right? Did these monsters kill the General?”</p><p>“I…” Ikar’s SOUL filled The Vessel with panic and fury and despair. For the first time they felt emotions at full force, and the guilt and horror and torment was just all too much and what could they even say, that no, they killed Ikar? What were they supposed to do? Tears ran down their cheeks as they every emotion that they had never felt before were all felt at once, their abandonment, their loneliness, their jealousy, grief, guilt, anger and despair and-</p><p>“That looks like answer enough,” The soldier said, glaring at the monsters. Their eyes widened.</p><p>“We didn’t-”</p><p>“Save it!” The soldier snapped. “This is the last straw. When the king finds out about this, you’re all done for. Now get off our land!” The monsters looked at each other uselessly, and trudged off human territory. The soldiers lifted Ikar’s body, and started heading back to camp. The head soldier slung his arm around The Vessel’s shoulder in sympathy.</p><p>“Really sorry that happened. I know you were siblings and all,” He comforted. “But don’t worry kid, we’ll be getting revenge soon enough. Those monsters’ll pay for what they did to him.”</p><p>The Vessel opened their mouth uselessly, but nothing came out. They could take this back. They could admit their crimes, and monsters would be innocent. But they didn’t.</p><p>Ikar’s SOUL resonated with a memory of words said not too long ago.</p><p>“Whatever happens next is your fault. Everything from now on is your doing. Be prepared to accept that.”</p><p>--------------------</p><p>People tried comforting them. They whispered sympathetic words, It wasn’t your fault, you’ll get your revenge, your ability to do magic now is a sign of that. And The Vessel never disagreed. They let the words fall upon unlistening ears. Was it really a lie if they never said anything about it? It didn’t matter. Just something they thought of to make them feel better.</p><p>Whatever comfort they received could not fix what was the truth. And the truth, The Vessel thought to themself as they struck down another monster, was that they were a bad person. They were a coward and a killer.</p><p>The death and dust and devastation was all their fault. And it was too late to turn back now and admit the truth. Or maybe that was another lie to make them feel better.</p><p>The Vessel coughed as the dust in the air was breathed in. They were… breathing it in. Wow. That was messed up. Really, all of this was.</p><p>The war (if you could even call it that at this point) was just going to last until every last monster was turned to dust. Less of a war and more of an extinction event.</p><p>If only there was a way to seal monsters away so that no more of them died, and kept humans satisfied with the result. If only…</p><p>The Vessel looked down at their transparent, red shield, and had an idea.</p><p>--------</p><p>“Please,” The king of monsters pleaded sorrowfully. “We surrender. My people are dying, I just want them safe.” He bowed his golden maned head in grief.</p><p>“We accept your surrender,” The human king responded. “On the following conditions. Akuji Russ, please speak.” The Vessel straightened and cleared their throat.</p><p>“Under that mountain,” They began, pointing at Mt. Ebott. “Is a series of elaborate cave systems. Wide and diverse, certainly big enough to house monsterkind. You will go down there, and 7 of our greatest mages will seal you underground with a spell. No human will go down there, and no monster will leave. Is that understood?” The king and queen of monsters looked at each other in worry. Distressed murmurs rippled through the crowd of monsters, and for good reason. Nobody would want to be trapped in a cave for the rest of their lives. But this was the best way.</p><p>“We agree to these terms,” The queen decided, and her husband nodded.</p><p>“Very well,” The human king said. “You will be escorted to the cave entrance, once all of you are inside, the mages will set the spell. Meeting adjourned.”</p><p>-----------------</p><p>The Vessel took their place. Around the mountain, six other mages were prepared to deliver the spell that would seal monsters away.</p><p>Forever.</p><p>Shifting their feet, The Vessel checked their LOVE count, which they had pointedly avoided looking at since the war started.</p><p>
  <strong>LV: 13</strong>
</p><p>Lovely. The double digits. They hadn’t expected any less. Still, a heaviness weighed down in their chest.</p><p>Shifting their stance again, The Vessel noticed that the SOUL- Ikar’s SOUL, had been dormant for quite some time. In the past it had squirmed and hummed with strong emotions, and struggled to take control of the body. But now…</p><p>“Ikar…?” The Vessel whispered. No response. Not even a hum of recognition at the name. Perhaps… it had given up. Ikar was gone. Every bit of him had faded away. It was The Vessel’s SOUL now.</p><p>A horn blared in the distance, signalling that the monsters were all underground and the spell needed to commence. The Vessel hit the staff on the ground, and in that moment, a great red shield burst into existence, growing and growing in size. All around the mountain, shields of different colours could be seen expanding.</p><p>In some time, they all merged into one and turned white, then invisible. And with that, the monsters were gone.</p><p>-----------------</p><p>The Vessel was regarded as a hero until the end of their days, though they knew deep down that they did not deserve it. Every day was another day of guilt and self loathing, as they waited for their life to come to an end. But no matter how hard they tried, they could not bring themself to end it on their own.</p><p>In their last moments, they reflected on their life and wondered if this was why The Creator had abandoned them. Perhaps they saw something that The Vessel themself could not. That they were an awful, selfish person from the start.</p><p>Who knew? Although the thought that they hadn’t been abandoned for no reason was better than what they had thought before.</p><p>Maybe, The Vessel hoped in their last breath, maybe My Creator will come for me now.</p><p>Maybe. Just maybe.</p><p>And The Vessel died.</p><p>And You didn’t come.</p>
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